Incinerator as a waste management device offers a number of advantages. The volume of wastes is cut down by about 80-90%. Further, the need of landfill is done away with and municipals don’t have to constantly worry about acquiring new lands to be used as waste dumping grounds.This is particularly important for urban regions where cost of land is going through the roof. The cost and energy required to transport waste from its source to landfills can be drastically reduced by building waste incinerating plants in close proximity to the areas where waste is being generated at constant rate. The energy generated from waste to energy processes can provide electricity to households in the neighborhood as well as heat up buildings in the vicinity. The residual ash can be used in construction industries. The leachate produced by landfills is also gotten rid of.

To ensure that the safety of the incinerator is not compromised, the incinerator operator should not be burdened with miscellaneous other tasks in addition to his primary job. He should be extensively trained on waste segregation techniques and the importance of the same. This will facilitate safe operation of the equipment and eliminate the potential risks and hazards associated with incinerating wastes.

Proper awareness should be generated among the operators regarding use of strategic PPEs for optimum safety at site, not overloading the device, and not to dump garbage not meant for incinerating such as aerosol bottles, propane containers, waste kitchen oil etc. Proper training should be imparted regarding the material that can be burnt and the consequences of incinerating any material. This will prevent the generation of toxic fumes which may potentially endanger the environment and people within the ambit of incinerator.

Safe and responsible operation of the incinerator would only ensure proper waste management.